intense words

so my dad sent me this article on the presidential election below. my repsonse is below it.


The Professor nails it. America is at a critical juncture.

"In that this will be my last column before the presidential election
there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is
too serious, and the stakes are too high.

This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime
that
will truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation
crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance. Down one path
lies retreat, abdication and a reign of ambivalence. Down the other
lies
a nation that is aware of its past and accepts the
daunting obligation its future demands. If we choose poorly, the
consequences will echo through the next 50 years of history.

If we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out the current occupant of the

White House, the message to the world and ourselves will be twofold.
First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things. Once a

nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon the
moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the
Middle East is too big of a task for us. But more significantly, we
will
signal to future presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle

difficult challenges, preferring caution to boldness, embracing the
mediocrity that has characterized other civilizations.

The defeat of President Bush will send a chilling message to future
presidents who may need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions.
America has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history
regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away from that legacy, we

turn away from who we are.

Second, we inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the
lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed terrorists
that you
don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat
them in
the newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a
defeated
America. Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do
the
heavy lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is
Somalia
times 10.


The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist in
every
cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of
American
voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly photos for
CNN
is all you need to break the will of the American people. Our own
self-doubt
will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that he can topple
any
American administration without setting foot on the homeland.

It is said that America's W.W.II generation is its " greatest
generation. " But my greatest fear is that it will become known as
America's "last generation. " Born in the bleakness of the Great
Depression and hardened in the fire of WW II, they may be the last
American generation that understands the meaning of duty, honor and
sacrifice. It is difficult to admit, but I know these terms are spoken
with
only hollow detachment by many (but not all) in my generation. Too
many
citizens today mistake " living in America " as " being an American
" .
But America has always been more of an idea than a place. When you sign
on,
you do more than buy real estate. You accept a set of values and
responsibilities.

This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must
grasp the
obligation that comes with being an American, or fade into the
oblivion they may deserve. I believe that 100 years from now historians

will look back at the election of 2004 and see it as the decisive
election of our century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe
it
as the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or they
will
describe it as the moment the prodigal sons and daughters of the
greatest generation accepted their burden as caretakers of the "City
on
the Hill."

Mathew Manweller

Manweller is a Central Washington University political science
professor.
This Op/Ed appeared in the Daily Record (Ellensburg, Washington's
paper) on
Wed. Oct. 6, 2004.

my response:

Dad,

a well written piece...here's my problem being part of the so-called "absent generation":

the opinion that one great generation or generations from the past that "can do big things" or "tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon the moon" in a some perfect way, without consequences, without having forced people all over the world to sacrifice , including their own--Americans, is not only questionable, but it is almost begins to reek of some kind of jingoism or, worse, a lingering idea of "manifest destiny." The conviction that America--that the United States of America--has been innocently playing out and fulfilling its role as the saviour of freedom for the free world up until the likes of John Kerry is as much or more a denial not "aware of its past" as any notion that John Kerry is our saviour from the ideologue, fundamentalist, corporate interest consumed, imperialism of George W. Bush.

this guy your are quoting is describing that "prodigal sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as caretakers of the 'City on the Hill.' " language like this justified crusades during the middle ages, convinced germans that Hitler would return the rhineland to its "former glory," inspired russians to overthrow the tsar and support the Bolsheviks, told native americans that they were lucky to be "moved" to oklahoma and given some kind of "status" by the pre-ordained US government. language like this can be more powerful than an army. language like this can not be thrown around lightly--it is not accurate nor is it even fair to characterize our presidential candidates this way--

it is insulting to me and to all young adults and young people when we are told that we are "absent" or that we are allowing our disaffection of certain values to affect our judgment, that we aren't participating properly in the execution of those values:
But America has always been more of an idea than a place. When you sign
on,
you do more than buy real estate. You accept a set of values and
responsibilities.

guess what--we are the product of these "super hero" generations. if we are so bad off, than perhaps that is not just our own failings but also the failing of those generations that "saved the world" over the last 70 years. guess what else--we get to inherit this world where americans are hated on a level never known before and their convictions about freedom for all are confused with some kind of protect-our-oil-resources imperialism justified by a war on terror.

I voted for George W. Bush in the last election, at this point it looks like I'll vote for him again. But it is not my or some recent disaffected generation's fault that we are in the absolute horror of a situation we are in, as Americans. George Bush is as much to blame or more for the situation we are in. The war on terror will continue for many years to come--our president admits that--it is not a war that will come to an abrupt end. It is a war that is taking place between you and I right now. Its seeds were being sown when our country aided people like hussein and bin laden twenty some odd years ago if not before then. It continues to be sown when we decide that "missle defense" is more in our best interests than balancing the budget and providing jobs for hard working people who do have convictions--in that regard, generations "saving the world" before people like me were even born are as responsible as any current media deception or democratic presidential candidate for the "war on terror."

this idea that the election is such a clear choice...this is absolute nonsense in my opinion. these kinds of articles are so polarizing to me, so in-objective in their opinions, and so dressed in the powerful language of "manifest destiny" and blame that they are insulting for me to read. do you want me to apologize for being educated in the best schools, for being shown the other side of our political history, for being inspired by "academic" notions that our country can do better than our current presidential candidates? for believing that working with other countries and supporting diplomacy before military force is a better choice? am i supposed to abdicate all of the valuable--and "freedom for all" based--lessons that I have been taught over the last 10 years?

I apologize, Dad. I believe in all of the values of the United States of America. I believe that we are one of the last forces for freedom in a fractured and dangerously confused, discontent world. But I will be dammed if I let people tell me how "clear" the choice for president is when it so obviously is not...all the while they are blaming me and my generation for allowing the danger of ruining our country's history and goal for freedom. this is McCarthyism. if you can't see it then there is nothing for us to talk about.